During the video conference where we were in the online room with the AUV and ROV teams, Channing Thomas also describes this recovery (Scroll to the 22:07 mark).
We thought our difficulties were over, but, oh, were we wrong! The ROV can go to depths of up to 5,000 meters. We tested this capability on a deep dive. but unfortunately, the electronics housing unit imploded under the extreme pressure! The reality of working on a vessel is that when things go wrong, you must only think about solutions. We do not have the luxury of going to the store to buy replacement equipment. The question you need to ask yourself is: "What can I do in the current situation with the materials that I have?" Unfortunately, we have to head to the Endurance sinking site without an ROV, as the equipment failure is irreparable. Luckily, we have an incredibly experienced team of AUV technicians who are thinking only of solutions! We need to cautiously and carefully plan how we launch and recover our AUV in the thick pack-ice that surrounds the Endurance sinking site. This will take a lot of pre-planning and thought, but I think we can do it. Wish us luck!
